The Shadow Self of STAR WARS Characters

I'm sure that many of you have heard of Carl Jung's theory on the "Shadow Self" of every individual. Jung claims that the nature of each individual is a combination of many complex traits, and that everyone has a "light" or "dark" side to him/herself. He also claims that each individual should learn to acknowledge and combine all facets of his or her nature to be a whole person. A person who mainly projects his/her positive facets, while supressing or ignoring the more negative aspects, needs to acknowledge the latter. The same can be said for a person who mainly projects his/her negative facets, while supressing or ignoring the more positive aspects. In other words, the "Shadow Self" is not positive or negative. Simply, each person tends to project only one side. The side that is ignored or supressed is the "Shadow Self".

Even though most of the SW characters tend to project only one side their nature, George Lucas has made it clear that each possess both positive and negative traits in the saga's characterizations. Can you recognize both positive and negative facets of each MAJOR character? And which traits would be considered part of that character's "Shadow Self"?

 

Anakin (obviously) goes through stages where his shadow self switches roles. He is both caring and generous, heroic,compassionate, loves passionately with his whole heart, loyal to those who have shown loyalty to him, and a genius of the Force. His caring and generosity are shadowed by his need to hold onto and control, his anger and hate, his whininess, his confusion about right and wrong, and his lust for power.

Padme is a woman both loving and kind, compassionate, beautiful, and strong in the ways of the diplomat, the leader, and to some extent, as a counselor of the distressed. But she is pacifistic to a fault, at times unwilling to face life's ups and downs, has a fear of selfish and needy love, because it is like a drug to her that, once addicted, she cannot do without, and would rather die than face reality.

Obiwan is steadfast as a rock, gentle in his persuasion, understanding of the connections between individuals, confident, and highly motivated. However, he is stubborn and limited in his perception, somewhat arrogant, and finds fault easily with others who do not fit into his perfect paradigm. He would rather believe someone dead than to accept that they have changed.

Palpatine is extremely clever, calm, and self-assured, who motivates people to success, and is generous with encouragement. His overconfidence blinds him, and his extreme lust for power and control over everyone and everything make him very dangerous, and he uses his positive qualities to bring about devastating effects, and he cares nothing about how his maneuverings affect others.

Yoda is wise and gentle, strong with the Force, and very thoughtful about morality. He is, however, self-righteous and judgemental and gives up easily when things do no go his way.

Luke, like his father is heroic and compassionate. He will stop at nothing to rescue a loved one, even if that loved one has proven himself unfaithful at times, and he may have trouble accepting their unfaithfulness, but retains hope and their goodness. He leads by example. However, he is reckless and quick to anger. Sometimes he has less faith in himself than he does in other people, and he is easily disappointed and depressed when people let him down.

Are those enough main characters?

 

Are you kidding? That was great! I only wished that you could have included Qui-Gon, Leia, Han, etc.

 

Qui God is difficult, as we are not given 3-6 movies to get to know him. However, I will try. Qui Gon demonstrates unwavering faith in the Living Force, in Anakin as the chosen one, and his own heart. He is very balanced, and yet has an underlying passion that few understand. This passion blinds him to the dangers that it takes to acheive balance, it causes him to be rebellious and defiant and he often is forced to walk alone on his path, and perhaps never get the credit he deserves.

Leia, like her mother is strong in the ways of leadership, and like her father has a great deal of passion and a need to help others. She is feisty in battle, creative, idealistic, and has a wonderfully dry sense of humor. She is also quick to anger, like her father; AND she has a tendency to be cold and a bit of a snob... qualities that her mother and father never had. (She probably learned that from Bail Organa, whaddya think?) To be truthful, I think Leia would have turned to the Dark Side had she been tested... after all, she suggested Dantooine (sp?) as the location of the Rebel base when Alderaan was placed in danger.

Han started out with negative qualities being what he put forward for others to see. He was selfish, reckless, greedy, and a smartass. Although he kept the smartass qualities that made him compatible with Leia, he became considerably less shady, greedy, and selfish and became braver, more loyal, and idealistic and his devious nature became useful in a fight for a good cause. He even risked his own life for his friends.